How to (and When to) Use cc: and bcc: on a Letter or E-mail

E-mailing is a huge part of our lives. Of course we also sometimes still have the need to send hardcopy letters by way of postal mail. An important element of both forms of correspondence involves the concepts of carbon copy (cc:) and blind carbon copy (bcc:).

This article shows you how to, and more importantly when to use these components of a hardcopy or electronic letter, taking matters of etiquette into account. In particular, the article warns of some very undesirable consequences that can result if these ideas are not fully understood.

Instructions

1. 

   A hardcopy business letter is typically mailed to one main recipient. Sometimes, though, the writer wishes to send a copy of the letter to other individuals or organizations. Such recipients are said to be carbon (or sometimes courtesy) copied on the letter.

   Look at the sample at left. At the very bottom of the letter, below all of the closing components, add a line that begins with "cc:" followed by the name of your first cc: recipient. Other cc: recipients should go directly below the first one as shown.

2. 

   From an etiquette standpoint, it's important to think very carefully about who you will cc: on your letter, if anyone. In the case of a letter of resignation, it is probably expected that you will address your letter to your boss, and you will cc: the Department Manager as well as Human Resources.

   However, if you are writing to your boss with some other issue, it may not be prudent to copy other people on the letter who may not need to be involved at that particular point.

3. 

   When sending a complaint letter to a company, it may be tempting to try to "scare" the company into compensating you fairly by copying your letter to the Better Business Bureau, The Department of Consumer Affairs, your State Attorney General, etc.

   Think very carefully about whether you should be doing this for your initial letter. In almost all cases, a mailed letter is treated with the utmost of respect and seriousness, therefore getting other agencies involved prematurely is usually frowned upon and unnecessary.

4. 

   The concept of blind carbon copy is quite a bit trickier. There are times when you want to copy someone on your letter, but you don't want the primary recipient or the cc: recipients to know that you have done so. Such a recipient is said to be blind carbon copied (bcc:). On the copies of the letter that you are sending to the main and cc: recipients, you will totally omit the bcc: section. On the copy that is sent to the bcc: recipient, you will include his/her name in the bcc: section as shown.

   If you are using bcc: for more than one recipient, you have two options. The first is to make it such that each bcc: recipient only sees his/her name in the bcc: field, and not the names of the other bcc: recipients. The other option is to make it such that each bcc: recipient is able to see all of the other bcc: recipients.

   Remember, in all cases the bcc: recipients can see the main and cc: recipients, but the main and cc: recipients do not see the bcc: recipient(s).

5. 

   It is very important to understand that by using bcc: you are taking a huge risk. In theory, a bcc: recipient should take note of the fact that s/he was bcc:'d on the letter, and understand what that means. However, this can sometimes put the bcc: recipient in an awkward position, since s/he may need to pretend as though s/he is unaware of the letter.

   Another scenario is that the bcc: recipient may not realize or understand the significance of such, and may speak to the main or cc: recipients about the letter who will be puzzled as to how the bcc: recipient knew anything about it.

   As you can see, using bcc: can lead to all sorts of complications and issues of trust. It's really a notch above whispering and talking behind people's backs, and asking people to keep secrets. Decide very carefully if you want to get involved with using bcc:.

6. 

   cc: and bcc: work the same way with e-mail as they do with postal mail, with one very significant difference. It is extremely easy for a bcc: recipient to do a Reply to All (meaning all the main and cc: recipients), therefore "blowing his/her cover." Just as with hardcopy mail, this can lead to all sorts of problems.

7. 

   When using bcc: for multiple recipients, it is usually the case that each bcc: recipient cannot see (and therefore cannot reply to) the other bcc: recipients. Most of the popular e-mail clients and ISPs handle e-mail in this matter. Still, it's important to be certain since in some implementations, bcc: recipients can all see one another. This is especially of concern for the scenario described below.

8. 

   There is an important situation in which using bcc: can actually be beneficial. If you are sending a newsletter to a mailing list, it is usually the case that you don't want each recipient to be able to see the others, for the sake of privacy. Furthermore, you probably don't want to run the risk of a recipient doing a Reply to All when they meant to just reply to you. In these cases, you should address the e-mail to yourself so that you will be in the "To:" field, and add everyone else to the bcc: field.

   Be aware that some e-mail programs will treat such e-mails as spam, since this technique is often used by spammers. You'll need to remind your recipients to add your address to their address book, or check their spam folder in case your e-mails end up there.

9. 

   You probably won't see the bcc: field in your e-mail program by default, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the setting that lets you activate that field. The photos in these last three steps show you how to do this for three popular e-mail clients.

10. 

    That's all you should need to know about how to and when to use cc: and bcc:. Remember to wash your hands after handling the carbon paper. ☺

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